[1] Dead flies can make a whole bottle of perfume stink, and a little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom. [2] It is natural for the wise to do the right thing and for fools to do the wrong thing. [3] Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools. [4] If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm. [5] Here is an injustice I have seen in the world-an injustice caused by rulers. [6] Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored. [7] I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves. [8] If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you. [9] If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it. [10] If your ax is dull and you don't sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead. [11] Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first. [12] What the wise say brings them honor, but fools are destroyed by their own words. [13] They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness. [14] A fool talks on and on. No one knows what is going to happen next, and no one can tell us what will happen after we die. [15] Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work. [16] A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long. [17] But a country is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don't get drunk. [18] When you are too lazy to repair your roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in. [19] Feasting makes you happy and wine cheers you up, but you can't have either without money. [20] Don't criticize the king, even silently, and don't criticize the rich, even in the privacy of your bedroom. A bird might carry the message and tell them what you said.
